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 The
David R. Poynter Legislative Research
Library is named in memory of David Rogers
Poynter, 1944 - 1989.
A native of Sulphur in Calcasieu Parish and
a graduate of Louisiana State University and
LSU Law School , David served on the
research staff of the Louisiana Legislative
Council (1966-1972), as Clerk of the House
of Representatives (1972-1983), as Clerk of
the Louisiana Constitutional Convention
(1973-1974), and as Executive Director of
House Legislative Services (1981-1983;
1988-1989).
In these roles, his intellect, spirit of
optimism, and energetic leadership were key
factors in shaping the vision for the
reform, modernization, and structure that
define today's Louisiana House of
Representatives and in effectively
implementing that vision. When the Library
was dedicated in December 1990, three
Speakers of the House with whom David served
provided the following characterizations:
E.L. "Bubba" Henry, Speaker, 1972-1980: "No
one that I know - elected or not - .....made
more of a contribution to legislative
growth, independence than David Poynter
did."
John Alario,
Speaker, 1984-1988: "There are two types of
people - those who seem to go through life
wanting to take and those that contribute
much more than their share not only for the
times in which they live but for those who
come after them... We were fortunate in
Louisiana to have David Poynter in our state
to make life much better [in] the time he
was here and most importantly for the times
to come."
Andre Lebeuf,
a staff colleague, interviewed many who knew
David well and prepared a summary of their
thoughts for the dedication. In it he noted:
"But perhaps of even greater value to the
legislature was the trust members had in
him... Whatever faction, party, group, or
side a member might be on, that member
trusted David implicitly and David always
gave the best unbiased advice to anyone who
asked."
The dedication of the Legislative Research
Library to David Poynter is, therefore,
particularly appropriate.
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